Analysis: It’s very difficult to choose against the 1958 NFL champions, who took the crown with an overtime win in "The Greatest Game Ever Played." That win over the Giants at Yankee Stadium avenged a regular-season road loss to New York and did much to propel the NFL and football to prominence.

It’s prompted books with subtitles like “The Birth of the Modern NFL” and “How the 1958 NFL Championship Changed Football Forever.”

And Baltimore’s lineup featured six players -- Berry, Donovan, Marchetti, Moore, Parker and Unitas -- who are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as is their coach, Weeb Ewbank.

These Colts were 6-0 at home and finished 10-3. Before the title tilt, they’d won by an average of 17 points and only once by a margin as small as seven. Their three losses were by 14 points. While Unitas threw 19 touchdowns against seven interceptions, the offense was really run-based with 24 rushing touchdowns and an average of 177.3 ground yards per game.

And, before you fire off that e-mail: Sorry if Indy folks don't like it, but yes, Baltimore and Indianapolis are the same franchise. Check the nickname, check the record books, check with the league. We're following its lead. This is what happens with relocated teams, with only the Browns/Ravens exception.

Most impressive win: Did we mention "The Greatest Game Ever Played?"

Research room: The 1958 Colts were the first team in league history to win a game in overtime, regular season or postseason.

Honorable mentions:

1959: These Baltimore Colts finished 9-3 and beat the Giants for the title again, with the same core of eventual Hall of Famers the 1958 team had.

1968: The famous clip of Joe Namath running off the field, his raised index finger wagging, overshadows these Baltimore Colts. They outscored opponents 402-144 and won the NFL title but lost Super Bowl III to the New York Jets in another game crucial to the league’s growth.

2006:Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts went 16-4 and their four-game playoff run produced a Super Bowl title. Yes, 2005 may have been a better team, but this one gets the nod because it got the trophy.

1970: In the last five seconds of Super Bowl V, rookie kicker Jim O'Brien’s 32-yard field goal lifted the Baltimore Colts to victory over the Dallas Cowboys.